"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet," Shakespeare's Juliet famously said.

That may well be true, but words mean things and we simply can't ignore the context in which they are spoken.

The hard right has shamefully condemned President Barack Obama for not using the words "Muslim" or "Islamic" next to the word "terrorist" when discussing the acts of ISIS, as if his repeated references to "violent extremists" is a way of pussyfooting around the issue. This is just one more offensive attempt by certain people in the GOP and their radio and cable hitmen to attack and undermine the president.

In doing so, the Republicans have revealed both a naive view of the world and a short historical memory.

President Obama offered a well-reasoned defense of his approach to countering violent extremism last week, saying those who have criticized his administration's reluctance to single out the threat specifically posed by Muslim terrorists are in danger of offering extremists the kind of legitimacy they crave.

Obama noted that al-Qaeda and ISIS try to portray themselves as religious leaders. Holy warriors in defense of Islam they are not. They appropriate the name Islamic in order to further the lie that the United States has declared war on Islam. That's how they recruit new members.

Obama is not the only chief executive to refuse to take the bait. Neither did George W. Bush, who less than a week after the 9/11 attacks said: "The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. ... Islam is peace. These terrorists don't represent peace. They represent evil and war. These acts of violence against innocents violate the fundamental tenets of the Islamic faith."

Compare Bush's comments with Obama's from last week at the White House summit on violent extremism: "We are not war with Islam. ... We are at war with people who have perverted Islam."

Where was the hue and cry against Bush for those nearly identical comments? There wasn't one.

Obama's strategy is one that recognizes nuance and the complicated matters of global geopolitics, which is precisely what people want to see in a leader. Any talking head, political hack or blogger at large can mouth off about whatever enters his or her head without regard to context, common sense or objective truth. While they are free to do so, we also are free to recognize the mindless comments for what they are: red meat for those who despise Obama.

Not all those who claim to be Islamic are faithful adherents to that faith; some are wolves in sheep's clothing. They use the trappings of the faith to advance their own cruel barbarism. It is not an act of weakness to acknowledge that simple fact, even as we work to degrade the terrorists' destructive ability without giving them the credibility they crave.